Talk About

Host
Wayne Cox
Announcer
Dean Hill
Broadcast
Syndication (Daily): 9/18/1989 – 3/16/1990 (reruns aired until 9/14/1990) Sneak Preview (Fox affiliates only): 9/15/1989
Packagers
Comedia Productions Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Distributor
DL Taffner Syndication Sales

REGULAR OPENING: "Let's talk. Whether the subject is (insert subject #1), (insert subject #2), or (insert subject #3, usually a punchline topic), it's something you're bound to/you'll hear about when we all (get together and) play Talk About! And here's the man who can talk about almost anything/has everybody talking, Wayne Cox!"

CELEBRITY OPENING: "Let's talk. Whether the subject is (insert subject #1), (insert subject #2) or (insert subject #3), it's something we might hear about when (insert celebrity) and (insert celebrity), (insert celebrity) and (insert celebrity) all play Celebrity Talk About! And now, here's the man who has everybody/all of Canada talking, Wayne Cox!"

(Celebrity) Talk About was a short-lived game show produced in Canada that was loosely based on the American board game Outburst.

Gameplay[]

Two teams of two contestants competed to "talk about" a series of subjects which can be either people, places, and things; all while trying to reveal ten hidden clue words on a game board.

Main Game[]

Each round of play was conducted in the same manner. The game started with the champions playing first and each subsequent round saw the teams taking turns. One team was isolated (by standing behind a podium to the side of the play area and they would place headphones on their ears and keep their backs turned to their opponents so they could neither see nor hear anything) while the other team was given a choice of two subjects to "talk about" and the team captain would then choose the subject and who would speak first.

Once a subject was chosen and the decision who would play first was made, each player on the talking team had 20 seconds to talk about that subject as much as possible. While talking, they faced a game board of ten hidden clue words associated with the subject chosen by the producers; and the team tried to come up with as many as possible. Each time the team said a clue word, it would be revealed on the board and one point was added to the pot. Credit was given for forms of a word, but not synonyms; in addition, these words would be taken off the list the other team would be shown. If between them, they uncovered all ten clue words, not only did they get the 10 points, but they also won a $500 bonus (all monies were Canadian currency). If they didn't get all ten after both players took their turns, then the opposing team was released from isolation, got to see the words that were missed, and try to guess what the subject was. If the isolated team could guess the subject using the words they saw, they stole the points; but if they couldn't, the talking team would keep the points.

NOTE: On certain subject choices, Wayne would warn the talking team that a certain form of one of the subjects would be accepted if the stealing said it.

The first team to reach 15 points or more won the game, $100 and advanced to the bonus game, while the losing team received parting gifts. All players received a copy of the Talk About home game.

Games could straddle from the end of one episode to the start of the next. This rule was changed for celebrity episodes; when time ran out at the end of an episode, the team in the lead won the game and received $1,000 in prizes for the charity sponsoring them.

Bonus Game[]

In the bonus game to start, the winning team had a choice between two bonus prizes to play for. Then just like in the main game, they had a choice of two subjects. First, they chose one of those subjects, then they decided amongst themselves as to who would talk, and who would go into an isolation booth. While one player was in the booth, the other had 20 seconds to talk about the chosen subject to reveal as many of the 10 words as possible with each word uncovered worth $100. If the talking player could reveal all ten, the team won $2,000; if he/she did not, however, he/she could decide to either take the money won or allow his/her partner to talk about the same subject in an attempt to get one of the remaining words on the list in as many seconds as revealed words in a double or nothing format. When taking the gamble, the partner was removed from isolation and had as many seconds as revealed words to try and say one of the words unsaid by the first player. Doing so doubled the money (up to $1,800), but not doing so won nothing. In addition to the cash, winning the bonus round in any way also won the selected bonus prize.

In Celebrity Talk About, the bonus game was only played for money.

Teams stayed on the show until they were defeated or won five games in a row. The fifth game if and when they made it was the grand game in which if won, they won a jackpot prize package, which stated at $1,000, and a prize was added every time new champions were crowned until a team claimed it. The biggest Grand Game Jackpot won on the show was $10,000. This rule change was made in Season 2.

Statistics[]

For Season 2, except for Complete Matches/Bonus Rounds, Biggest Winners, Grand Champions, Biggest Prize Jackpot, and Prize Jackpot Winners, all numbers are approximate. As of this writing, Season 2 is a work in progress.

Season 1 (1988–1989)[]

Complete Matches/Bonus Rounds = 156
$500 Bonuses = 13
Biggest Lead = Nigel & Rod (23-0/#88-039H)
Biggest Winners = Nigel & Rod ($8,100/#88-040H)
Bonus Round Wins = $100 to $200 (1), $200 to $400 (8), $300 to $600 (10), $400 to $800 (14), $500 to $1,000 (9), $600 to $1,200 (6), $700 to $1,400 (4), $800 to $1,600 (0), $900 to $1,800 (0), $1,000 to $2,000 (1)
Bonus Round Bail-Outs = 65
Bonus Round Losses = 39
Grand Champions = 12

Season 2 (1989–1990)[]

Complete Matches/Bonus Rounds = 86
$500 Bonuses = 5
Biggest Lead = TBA
Biggest Winners = TBA
Bonus Round Wins = $100 to $200 (3), $200 to $400 (1), $300 to $600 (9), $400 to $800 (9), $500 to $1,000 (7), $600 to $1,200 (1), $700 to $1,400 (2), $800 to $1,600 (0), $900 to $1,800 (0), $1,000 to $2,000 (1)
Bonus Round Bail-Outs = 32
Bonus Round Losses = 20
Biggest Prize Jackpot = $10,000
Prize Jackpot Winners/Grand Champions = 7 (?)

Trivia[]

Before its nationally Syndicated run in America, the show was first seen in Canada on CBC on October 17, 1988.
A primetime celebrity version with CBC stars was added on January 10, 1989.
The show aired in reruns on USA Network from June 28 until December 31, 1993.
The show also aired simultaneously in Canada on CBC, with repeats airing on GameTV (Canada's GSN) from January 3, 2011 until September 2015. The show returned to GameTV's schedule on July 1, 2019.
After being off the air on American television for no longer than 29 years, on May 9, 2022, it was officially announced on Buzzr's official Twitter page that the show would have a marathon on May 29 and then the series would be added to its lineup on May 30.^[1]
Is it possible for the challengers to be defeated and still win money? Yes! One team did: a $1,000 bonus for uncovering all ten words in one or both turns.

Stations[]

Stations that aired this included:

New York - WNYW
Los Angeles - KTTV
Chicago - WFLD
Philadelphia - WTXF
Salt Lake City - KUTV
Providence - WJAR
Seattle - KSTW
Boston - WFXT
Washington, D.C. - WTTG
Houston - KRIV
Minneapolis - KTMA (now WUCW)
Milwaukee - WISN
Green Bay - WGBA
Davenport, IA - KWQC
Ottumwa - KYOU
Des Moines - KDSM
Tucson - KTTU
Oklahoma City - KAUT
Memphis - WPTY
Charleston, WV - WSAZ
Orlando - WESH
Honolulu - KITV
Louisville - WBNA
Nashville - WZTV
Portland, OR - KPDX
Huntsville, AL - WTRT
Charlotte - WSOC
Atlanta - WVEU (now WUPA)
Norfolk - WTVZ

Merchandise[]

Board Game[]

A home version of the game was produced by Pressman in 1989. All contestants got a copy and Cox would plug it after every match. Partway through Season 2, Dean Hill began plugging it after coming back from the first commercial break.